'Aryan Nations' extremists select new leader

White supremacist preacher James P. Wickstrom has been slected as the new leader of the 'Aryan Nations' white supremacist group based in the US state of Pennsylvania. Wickstrom teaches a doctrine that whites are God's chosen people, Jews are evil and blacks and other races are inferior, according to newspaper reports. He and his group held regular meetings for about three years at a furniture store which was destroyed by a fire in June this year. Investigators suspect arson, but no arrests have been made. The fire remains under investigation. "Aryan Nations" members have been linked to several hate crimes over the years, including a 1999 shooting at a Jewish day-care center in Los Angeles.